Mailbag: Grateful for help after fire

November 11, 2010

Two and a half months ago our home caught on fire and burned with our beloved pets and treasures inside. Luckily our lives and those of our pets were spared, but two-thirds of our home was lost. During the night of the fire and in the weeks that followed we were overwhelmed by the kindness and generosity of family, friends, neighbors, clients, establishments and strangers. These wonderful people came to our rescue with help and support, services, donations, dinners, opened homes, hugs and prayers.

Thank you one and all, for each of you in your own unique way made this life challenge just that much more bearable for us! There are so many to whom we are grateful, and we'd like to mention some of them.

Thank you so much for all you gave, we will never forget all you did, and we will be forever grateful!

Marlene T. Dantzer, Dave Stoermer and "family"

Laguna Beach

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Village Laguna has undue influence

Village Laguna Board Member Cindalee Penney-Hall has compared me to Stalin for pointing out gross irregularities in the voting process for the Design Review Board. This reveals three basic truths that every city resident who embraces moderate politics needs to understand.

First, Penney-Hall finally expresses what has thus far been unspoken: It is the official policy of Village Laguna to prevent architects and other design professionals from serving on the Design Review Board. In taking this position, Village Laguna clearly reveals its extreme nature. Anyone familiar with this design review process knows that it is a critical part of the fabric of our city. Given the complexity of proper design review, having one or more design professionals on the DRB greatly enhances the process.